Tag Archives: War

Suite Française (2014) ☆☆(2/4) : The German Lieutenant’s Woman

Posted on December 3, 2015 by kaist455

During its epilogue, “Suite Française” belatedly reveals to us its most interesting aspect. The movie is based on a novella written by Russian Jewish novelist Irène Némirovsky during the World War II, and it was a part of her planned … Continue reading →

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Tangerines (2013) ☆☆☆(3/4): His house as a neutral zone

Posted on November 22, 2015 by kaist455

“Tangerines”, a Georgian-Estonian film which was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film early in this year, is a small war fable accompanied with some humanistic messages to deliver. While its intention is apparent right from the beginning, it takes its … Continue reading →

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Virunga (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Guarding their park from human greed and violence

Posted on November 21, 2015 by kaist455

My fellow film critic Michael Mirasol often uses a phrase when he informs me and his other Twitter followers of some infuriating cases of how people ruin nature for greed or other despicable reasons: F*cking humans. Oscar-nominated documentary “Virunga” will … Continue reading →

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): So it ends here

Posted on November 19, 2015 by kaist455

So it ends here. After the intermission of one year, we finally get “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”, which starts right from the point where the first part was over. While the end of the war is indeed … Continue reading →

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Dheepan (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : New identity, new place, and new family

Posted on November 3, 2015 by kaist455

Can they adapt themselves to their new identities? Can they settle together in a world new and alien to them? And, above all, can they accept each other as someone more than an accomplice? Through three strangers who happen to … Continue reading →

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Beasts of No Nation (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Into the heart of darkness

Posted on October 23, 2015 by kaist455

“Beasts of No Nation” strikes us hard with intense moments both gut-wrenching and devastating. It is chilling to watch its little young hero being turned into a little savage creature of war, and it is also heartbreaking to see him … Continue reading →

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Phoenix (2014) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : The past is still there for her and others

Posted on July 19, 2015 by kaist455

The war is over, but the past is still there for her and others. Christian Petzold’s “Phoenix”, a quiet but compelling period drama revolving around disguise and manipulation with a touch of film noir, is reticent about the dark period … Continue reading →

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The Guest (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A piper comes to the village

Posted on July 11, 2015 by kaist455

On one day during my miserable graduate school years, one of the seniors in my advisor professor’s biology laboratory told me about his personal aversion to rodents. As a guy who grew up in a farming village, he had vivid … Continue reading →

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Last Days in Vietnam (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The last chapter of the Vietnam War

Posted on May 3, 2015 by kaist455

Looking closer into the last chapter of the Vietnam War, Oscar-nominated documentary “Last Days in Vietnam”, which was broadcast on PBS in last week, gives us a riveting tale which tells and shows more of what happened during those chaotic … Continue reading →

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The Green Prince (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A most wanted informer

Posted on April 18, 2015 by kaist455

The real-life story told in documentary “The Green Prince” is as dramatic as any thrilling spy movies. Here is a man working against almost everything which had defined his social/political background, and it is interesting to hear his remarkable story … Continue reading →

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